See what is and make a choice for better

Merriam-Webster’s word of the year is “authentic.”

Though, authentic is what you always get with me, I choose discernment as my word of the year.

Discernment.

•  “Grasp what is obscure” (Merriam-Webster)

• “A way of seeing things” (Vocabulary) 

• “The power to see what is not evident to the average mind” (Merriam-Webster)

• “To anticipate what comes” (Thesaurus)

I’ve always said my superpower rests in taking the complicated and making it understandable, finding the sliver of extraordinary and elevating it above the noisy clutter. I think every good storyteller needs that perception, that discernment to “grasp what is obscure” and “see what is not evident.” 

Perhaps it's Word Hippo’s definition of discernment that resonates the most this past year:

“Something that has been learned from experience.”

This year, I focused that discernment on what experience showed me on a personal level, to anticipate what comes if nothing changes or what comes if everything changes. 

Giggle: Microsoft Editor suggested I change the word “anticipate” to “expect” in the previous sentence, but they don’t mean the same to me. Expect is too accepting of the action to follow; anticipate gives the power to me to know what’s coming and change the outcome. 

I chose to change the outcome, to anticipate what I could gain from new experiences and look for my next sliver of extraordinary.

Discernment is to see what is and make a choice for better, for more, for me. (Judy’s definition)